Letting Go
by YoungBek
Summary: Three days after Jack left with the Doctor, and the team finally have time to thing. They just wish they didn't. Written for Torchwood Fic Week, under the prompt "Drink"


This was written for Torchwood Fic Week over on Tumblr, so I strongly advise you to get over there and see all the other people who've posted to it. There's a lot of talent and you won't regret it.

This was beta-d by boredsince1894, who is phenomenal at what she does, so check her out as well.

Thank you and enjoy!

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Four sets of eyes stared blankly down at the table of the boardroom. Four brains were working tirelessly to figure out what to do next. Four hearts felt hollow as they were hyperaware that there should have been five of them sitting in the seats.

It had been three days. They'd been working nonstop since their captain had run off down the plass and left them to fend for themselves. At the time it had been necessary. They couldn't stop working just because the most important member of the team was missing. The Rift waited for no one, not even the heartbroken. In some ways it was a good thing the Rift had been running on high and the city needed their help. It kept their minds busy, made sure that they didn't stop to think about how they had been abandoned heartbreakingly recently.

But now that the Rift had grown tired and sluggish, they were left with too much time. They still hadn't chosen a new leader, or accepted that they needed one. No one had spoken for at least an hour.

Finally a deep voice cut through the thick silence that had settled in the room.

"Well" said Ianto as everyone jumped at the sudden noise, even the archivist himself. "Jack has some rum stashed in his office."

Everyone stared at him, slowly absorbing what he said, and pondering whether they should go along with Ianto's obvious plan. If Jack returned to find it had gone missing, he was sure to be at least a little upset. Rather than a hindrance, that only made them want the alcohol even more. Even the thought of such a petty thing against someone that they had respected only a few days ago made them rise in their chairs, morale raising just a tiny bit higher.

"What are you waiting for? Go get it," Owen demanded. Ianto bitterly rose from his chair, his desire to drink outweighing his disdain for the medic.

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An hour later, almost all of the alcohol that had been stashed in the Hub had gone. All four of the Torchwood operatives were slumped in their chairs, speaking periodically in broken, disjointed conversations.

"We need to figure out what we're going to do" said Toshiko, professional despite her words slurring as they left her mouth. Even though she knew that none of the team were in the state to decide their future, she just couldn't keep the topic from her mind.

"What can we even do that we haven't done already?" Gwen asked, mopey despite her drunken state. "We looked for him everywhere, we searched the CCTV. He's gone."

"What I meant, Gwen," Tosh began impatiently, "is what we should do in the event he doesn't come back. We need to figure out how to run it ourselves."

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Gwen cried, arms thrown up in the air.

"Can't we just enjoy being shit-faced for a little while?" Owen interjected, swiping the rum from the collection of bottles on the table and taking a swig.

"I am with Owen, for once" Ianto said, burping and resting his forehead back on the table.

"We don't know when we'll have a chance to talk about this again." Tosh insisted, deflating everyone else at the table. Gwen sighed loudly and ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

"She's right" She groaned, looking for the two men's support. Bitterly, both of them sat up and stared at the women opposite them.

"I think," Ianto began, pausing as he tried to collect his thoughts. "We should elect a leader first."

"You suppose you're in the running?" Owen scoffed.

"Not a chance." Ianto rolled his eyes "My vote's for Gwen" The woman stared questioningly at Ianto.

"What do you mean you vote for me?" She asked incredulously.

"I second Gwen" Tosh chimed in, happy that she wasn't the one who was nominated.

"What?" Gwen repeated herself.

"What?" Owen agreed, earning a glace from Gwen.

"Watch it, Owen" She warned.

"Like you'd know what you're doing! All's I'm saying is that you're the newest person. Shouldn't it be someone who's been here more than a year?"

"Shouldn't it be someone with at least minimal people skills" said Ianto, causing Toshiko to snort into her drink.

"And leadership skills" She added eying the medic's reaction with a mischievous smirk.

"I can be a leader!" He exclaimed. This time Ianto was the one who snorted.

"In what way? I mean if you call aggressively insulting your teammates until they do your work to shut you up leadership."

"I do, thank you."

"At least we all can agree it's not going to be Owen." Gwen said, earning a frustrated groan form the man. "But he has got a point, though. I haven't been here very long"

"Torchwood's about the top in trial by fire." Gwen shuddered as she realized what she was in for.

"And if I don't want to?"

"Tough" said the archivist, "None of the rest of us are qualified for it, no offense, Tosh."

"None taken"

"And we can't very well go on the way we are. You'll do great. Of course you will." They were all silent for a while as Gwen thought about her new responsibilities.

"Now I do want to enjoy being shit-faced" The new leader remarked.

"That's what I'm saying" Owen grumbled moodily.

"It's not like we'd have to deal with any of this if Jack hadn't done a runner, the bastard." Ianto grumbled, wanting nothing more than to vent about how they'd been abandoned.

"Right," Owen began, suddenly remembering something from earlier. "Were you fucking Jack, or what?" He directed the question toward Ianto, and everyone at the table tensed.

"I'd rather not talk about my ex, thanks" He retorted, forgetting or ignoring that he had brought up the captain in the first place. Anything to keep the attention off of his relationship with Jack. After only a second he realized what he said, "I mean. Not-"

"Ex?" Gwen interrupted, wide-eyed. Ianto shrugged and knocked back another glass.

"Ex shag, anyway" He sighed.

"So yes?"

"Yeah"

"And what about you PC Cooper?" Owen interrogated, turning the attention instead to Gwen, whose cheeks were already ruddy and warm. "What exactly was going on between you and Jack?"

"Nothing!" She exclaimed. "I'm with Rhys."

"I think I of all people know that doesn't mean much." Owen retorted, causing Gwen to go yet another shade redder than she already was.

"If you hadn't noticed" Gwen shot back, tone like acid. "I've stopped with that."

"It was a bit obvious you had feelings for each other" Tosh added.

"Well," Gwen began, but found herself at a loss for words. "I mean… I suppose, but it's not like that." She attempted to cover her tracks. Owen's unconvinced smirk told her it didn't work. "It's not! I never slept with him!"

"Why not?" Owen continued to prod, "And don't say you didn't want to. Everybody wants to with Harkness." Tosh's eyebrows shot up in surprise and she grinned slyly at him.

"Did you just admit that you'd shag Jack, Owen?" She asked, looking smug.

"Well, I wouldn't hit on him" He stuttered out and flushed. Gwen and Tosh were laughing into their hands, trying to keep under control. Ianto stared impassively, though it was obvious he doubted the medic as well. "Alright, so I wouldn't say no if he offered."

The women managed to calm down after he finally made his admission

"I'm surprised he never did." Said Tosh, rubbing at her warmed cheeks.

"Well never seriously. He jokes but I've never seen him actually offer. Not really to anyone." Owen responded thoughtfully.

"It's so he doesn't come off a as a creep." Ianto responded, "He jokes and then leaves it up to you to decide whether you want to take it seriously or not."

"Makes sense"

"Hold on," Gwen started, "Does that mean you propositioned him?"

"Yup." The archivist didn't see any point in withholding the information form them.

"Didn't think you had it in you." He felt irritation rise up in his chest.

"Well Jack was pretty impressed with my abilities, so I'm capable of more than you think." He growled back, but didn't manage to intimidate Owen.

"Course, he did get sick of you, seeing as he left." He added before Gwen hit him upside the head. Toshiko gasped and looked between them, sure a fight would break out. Ianto downed another shot, cleared his throat, and glared at Owen, who was only beginning to look nervous. His shoulder tinged where it had been shot less than a week before.

"Careful, Owen." Ianto said calmly staring impassively at him. Chills ran down his spine as he nodded. Gwen let her breath out, sure that a crisis had just been averted.

Still the easy atmosphere around them was gone. It had turned heavy and thick, pressing down on their skulls. They sat in silence for the second time that night. Each of them were minutely aware that Jack hadn't left just one of them, he'd left them all. Just as each of them had betrayed him.

"It's all of us." Tosh whispered, speaking what was on everyone's mind. "And all of us are going to have to move on and live with it."

Ianto and Owen met eyes across the table. If the team was going to manage to work together with their captain gone, they would need to not kill each other. That would probably be the hardest part of it all.

They weren't family, they weren't friends. Not yet. It would take work and understanding. They would at least need to begin to try to let go.

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Hope it was to your liking, it was certainly fun writing it.


End file.
